Women of Promise

       I grew up with a father who was a theologian and a philosopher.  He loved the Word of God and led his family to serve and honor the Lord.  He taught us well, but we always struggled as children to understand the practical application of all of his deep studies.  God balanced my dad's esoteric tendancies with an extremely practical and down-to-earth wife.  Mom was the epitomy of a Proverbs 31 woman. She found great fulfillment in keeping the home and was a help-meet extraordinaire for my dad.  She did her best to translate for us kiddos and help us practically apply what Dad taught.      Sometimes studying the Word of God is like that.  We can get very amazed and even overwhelmed with the amazing truths of creation and redemption -- and we should! These truths and wonders are the very foundation of who and what we are.  However, these truths should not just stop at being amazing, glorious facts and thoughts that...

        I have written in the past about the history of Reformation Day, and the pivotal importance of Martin Luther and his actions hold in the history of the Christian church. I won't go into all of that today. If you are unfamiliar with the Reformers, the events of the Reformation, and the power of the Catholic Church at the time, I encourage you to do a little research. It will bring you to your knees in thankfulness to God for the courage and faith of these men who gave their all in defense of Scriptural truth.     I read recently some thoughts from some amazing women of God as they shared what the Reformation meant to them. The common theme was anchors for our soul.  The great men of faith of the Reformation were clinging to the anchors of Christ as the sole source of our salvation, Scriptural as the sole source of truth,  faith in Christ as the only action to obtain salvation, God's grace is the sole basis of our salvation, and ...

       This is the final week of October and we close out our month of focused prayer for our pastor. I pray you have been blessed as you have prayed through the Scripture-based prayer prompts each day. Grounding our prayers in the words of God gives us confidence as we approach the throne.      Here are the final prompts to guide you in your prayer this week: 1.   Pray that God will give our pastor a clear, biblical vision of what our church can be and should be for His glory and that he will communicate that vision clearly and confidently to the church.  ( Proverbs 29:18 ;  John 15:16, 17:17 ) 2.  Pray that our pastor will seek God for personal revival and revival in our church and community. ( 2 Chronicles 7:14 ;  Psalm 69:32 ) 3.  Pray that our pastor will think biblically, with the mind of Christ. ( 1 Corinthians 2:16 ;  Colossians 2:6–8 ;  Ephesians 4:17 ) 4.  Pray that our pastor will earnestly s...

           October is traditionally "Pastor Appreciation" month.  I think it is wonderful that we make a special effort to show our pastor and his family that their labor and service for the Lord is noticed and loved. I would also like to challenge us to spend some focused time in prayer for our pastor. The enemy is desperately attempting to squelch the work of the Lord.  Those who faithfully bear witness to the gospel and serve the body of Christ are targets of the enemy's attacks in a way the rest of us may never experience.  While we should always be in regular prayer for our pastor, I am challenging us to spend time in special prayer for Pastor Rob, Autumn and Reese.      Sometimes we don't know what or how to pray.  Here are some prayer prompts that may help you.  Use one a day for a focused time of prayer, or pray through the list as you have time.  God inhabits the prayers of His people.  Let's surrou...

     Boys seem to naturally love to play war-themed games, don't they?  Sticks and even fingers inevitably turn to arrows or pistols.  Around our house, the boys are just as likely to turn to full-body wrestling. With seven boys in the house (I have to include the adult boys in this! 😁), it is a constant chore to referee these wrestling matches.  Their energy is never ending, and their imagination is always rolling!     Another battle is constantly raging around us.  It is entirely real. This is not a figment of our imagination.  There is a battle for our souls and the souls of our children.  Each one of us has this battle raging within us every hour of every day.  This is a spiritual battle that is always taking place in our hearts for control of our minds and bodies.  These attacks are led by the Evil One, himself.       As my children grow, I love those times when their minds are captivated by some...

      The more I study Scripture, the more I fall in love with it. Actually, more accurately, I fall in love with its Author. The seamless way that all Scripture ties in to each other, from Old Testament to New is beyond human comprehension. The beauty of the Gospel, the character and person of Jesus is found in EVERY passage.      Let's look at one example. John the Baptist identifies and announces Jesus uniquely in John 1:29: “ Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This poetic title, " The Lamb of God,"  was actually prophetic declaration.      John was not simply calling Jesus gentle or innocent, although He was. John  was identifying Jesus as T he Lamb .  Not just any lamb.  Not merely a symbol of meekness, although He was. "T he Lamb," refers to the One to whom Passover pointed and prescribed to be celebrated way back in Leviticus 23.     When John says those words, he i...

  A combination of  various events recently have led me back to look at the issue of sin.  Learning about the holiness of God as opposed to the total depravity of man is mind blowing.  It is a hopeless situation. Psalm 24 tells us that only the man who has clean hands and a pure heart can stand before the King of Glory.  No human has ever attained that level of perfection, except Jesus.  Man can never dream of an eternity in God's perfect Heaven. All we can do is cry out to God as the Psalmist does in Psalm 51: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions."   BUT, Jesus!  Jesus is the answer. Jesus made the way. Jesus is the only one who can fit the description in Psalm 24.  The wonder of it is in I John 4:10:  "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."      Propitiatio...